Apostle Paul speaks about "light afflictions" whereas he underwent in reality very heavy trials, few people can undergo such trials. He himself explains what’s the matter here, saying that he sees his afflictions transformed. The apostle sees them already finished, sees how their fruit is- the glory, sees them from the point of view of eternity, because now already - God sees our afflictions - when it is painful and it seems this will never end.

It will finish, and will be taken on in glory, quite as the Cross of the Christ ends with the Resurrection. And we already can approach today such a vision, if we look not "at the things which are seen, but which are not seen ".

We can look at things which are not seen only by faith, which Apostle Paul defines as "evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1: "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ").

Faith relieves our afflictions and all that our life consists of. Only by faith, looking at things not seen, that is keeping in our heart, as the greatest jewel trust in God - the Creator, Curator of everything on earth and the Redeemer, that we become sighted, capable of seeing the meaning of our afflictions, and our enjoyments.

Only by faith we can get up until the height of the Divine intention and God’s way of dispensation, up to the firm, solid support, which is not exposed to time, does not disappear, does not change, does not deceive, because this is God.

The Epistle to the Corinthians speaks not only of the danger of the Christian path but also of suffering and death, without any obvious reward. For the only motive proves to be the desire “that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh,” while “the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” How far this is from our usual ideas about a person's calling, about fulfillment in this life, and, finally, about glory!

These words of the apostle Paul, continuing what is said about the Light of Christ in the Gospels, reveal to us the essence and meaning of the New Covenant. That is why it is so New, so unexpected and amazing for people.

The New Covenant is not a secret teaching into which only the chosen are allowed to enter. Nor is it a closed clan that rejects outsiders. The New Covenant is not a list of requirements that establishes a scale of good and evil based on the depth of human fallenness. The New Covenant is not an ideology that shapes the soul and mind of its adherents. It is not even a way of life that offers the receiving of some fruits in exchange for giving up others.

It is light that flashed like lightning from one edge of the sky to the other. Light in which everything is visible: truth and falsehood, good and evil, life and death. Light shining in the face of Jesus Christ. It is not that life in darkness was worse: dark, frightening, and cold. Experience shows that outside this light, life is simply impossible.